EDIT: Hockey does, but it's rare. My point was that soccer is the only major sport where it's fairly common to have nobody score.
its not even that...at least with football people are getting hit..thats exciting. Watching soccer players act like they're hurt get carted off and then hop off the stretcher when getting out of bounds is ridiculous. its just not a fun sport to watch.
The only thing I found exciting about soccer is penalty kicks at the end of World Cup games. Defensively it is very boring. In baseball a ground ball can turn into a double play, a fly ball a great outfield catch. Either way something is happening. You can't say to me it is the purest sport. What kind of a gauge are you using to make that kind of speculation? I love football, basketball, baseball, hell I'll even watch golf, bowling or even sometimes poker just for the competitive aspects of skill of the body or the mind. Ultimately I enjoy sports for the thrill of the competition.
No timeouts, continuous movement, no commercials, very few substitutions, a 90 minute game is over start to finish in about 110 minutes, etc... (that's what I think they mean by 'pure') I understand what you are saying though -- I think you have to grow up playing soccer to really enjoy watching it. I have trouble watching MLS and a lot of South American soccer. English Premier league is where it's at -- lots of long ball, big runs, and long outside shots (check the vid). <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/I3k9Eb8-KUE"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/I3k9Eb8-KUE" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>
soccer isn't competetive? why do people in this country love to bash the sport that the majority of the world adores? it's like people want it to fail, want it to suck, yo no comprendo.
I'm not opposed to soccer, I think it is a good sport for youth. It teaches the same principles as any other of the activities. Exercise, teamwork, etc. Thats a good thing for today's kids to get involved with, especially in this video game and television age. I am all for the advancement of soccer in America. However, from an entertainment standpoint I just can't get into it and that is all I'm saying. Most of the world is crazy over it but I suppose thats the big thing in their neck of the woods and here it really isn't. I don't think I want it to fail at all, I just don't want to watch it, just like I don't want to watch Nascar or Boxing or any other sport that I really don't care to view for entertainment purposes.
Funny how you guys act like you couldn't give two ****s about Soccer......and yet you keep coming back here to discuss about it.
After a marathon watching of the last World Cup, going back to watching basketball and football felt odd. I really got a sense of halting-ness (not a word), like people racing to stop at a red light every block. After a month and getting back to the normal schedule of US sports it wore off. BTW, I love how soccer threads always bring out the soccer bashers who feel the need to go on an Andy Rooney diatribe. You see the thread title, no one's stopping you from skipping it. I like watching football. I'm a diehard Browns fan for crying out loud. But I hope the soccer haters will have enough perspective to also see how easy it is for the rest of the world to see the NFL as 4 seconds of tackling into a pile of people, and 1 minute of waiting around to see it happen again. And yes, I boiled it down to a ridiculous description much like others do here about soccer.
that's great, yet you felt the need to come in and give it a little dig with your post on page 1 of this thread. that's fine it was funny, it just seems to me, that people have a special desire to bash soccer. it's this america versus the world bull**** that just makes us look petty and stupid to the everyone else.
Magic Spray rules. Americans won't go for faking injuries and fouls like legions of Dirk Nowitzkis. <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/uVim7rjfKOQ"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/uVim7rjfKOQ" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>
It was mostly satirical, as most of my posts are. And for one, It was the spectacle of Beckham's grand arrival in what turned out to be a very meaningless game that was irking me. America is just obsessed with anything celebrity.
yeah, i know you were just taking a piss as usual. and i feel you on the glimmer twins- becks and skanky ho. i was flipping through channels and stopped on the posh spice reality show and was revolted. ugly, scrawny and stupid, what a winner she is. they also happen to be buddies with team tomkat. yes, i hate them all. however, i will be going to the next eurocup held in austria and switzerland.
I never really understood this either, it's like people think that soccer is going to make them a communist or turn their kids gay and they're deathly afraid of it. There's plenty of sports I don't like but I somehow manage to A) not go out of my way to troll every thread about said sport B) hope it fails for the sake of some personal validation and C) insult people that do like the sport. It's actually pretty sad that somebody is so scared/hateful of a sport for no logical reason.
Soccer is about the opportunity to score more than the score itself...that is the beauty of the game. That being said, if they loosened up the offsides it would open up the scoring a LOT. DD
Not really. Defenses would drop further back and it becomes a pinball game of who's long ball/cross is lucky enough to reach its players. Everyoen's reppin the EPL, but the truth is the best soccer is in La Liga (spain). You can watch any game in that league, even if it's the bottom feeders, and they'll play an appealing brand of football. Quick, silky, swift passes, lots of movement and creativity, and a focus on scoring ratehr than defending. I have to say though, Americans would be much more excited about soccer if their club teams or national team saw any kind of success at some point in history. It's happening slowly, but I'm seeing the US players regressing rather than progressing at this point. IMO, I think it's because US athletes put way too much emphasis on power and quickness than agility and creativity. Player agility and creativity are the top 2 determinants of succesful soccer teams in the world.
I agree, I love having GolTV so I can watch La Liga, the games are much more entertaining than EPL games. American players are much better now than they were 10 years ago and having a domestic league is helping a lot. You're right about the focus on athleticism over skill though. At younger ages athleticism will win you games so coaches use that as a crutch instead of developing skills. Hopefully the MLS youth development teams will help us get away from that.
